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Running from God

By |2024-10-25T02:33:22-04:00October 25th, 2024|

Julie and Liz kayaked off the coast of California, scouting for humpback whales. Humpbacks are known for being active near the surface, making them easy to spot. The two women got the surprise of their lives when one surfaced directly underneath them. An onlooker caught footage of their encounter that showed the large mouth of the whale dwarfing the women and their kayaks. After briefly going underwater, the women escaped unharmed.

Their experience offers perspective on the biblical account of the prophet Jonah being swallowed by a “huge fish” (Jonah 1:17). God had instructed him to preach to the Ninevites but because they’d rejected God, Jonah didn’t feel they were worthy of His forgiveness. Instead of obeying, he ran away in the opposite direction and took passage on a ship. God sent a dangerous storm, and he was thrown overboard.

God provided a way to preserve Jonah from certain death on the high seas, sparing him the far-worse consequences of his actions (though three days in the belly of a massive fish doesn’t appeal much either). Jonah “called to the Lord” and God listened (2:2). After Jonah admitted his wrongdoing and expressed his praise and acknowledgment of God’s goodness, he was—at His command—expelled from the fish “onto dry land” (v. 10).

By God’s grace, when we acknowledge our wrongdoings and express faith in Jesus’ sacrifice, we’re spared the spiritual death we deserve and experience new life through Him.

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A Repentant Heart

By |2024-08-23T02:33:27-04:00August 23rd, 2024|

A friend had violated the vows of his marriage. It was painful to watch him destroy his family. As he sought reconciliation with his wife, he asked my counsel. I told him he needed to offer more than words; he needed to be proactive in loving his wife and removing any patterns of sin. 

The prophet Jeremiah offered similar advice to those who’d broken their covenant with God and followed other gods. It wasn’t enough to return to Him (Jeremiah 4:1), though that was the right start. They also needed to align their actions with what they were saying. That meant getting rid of their “detestable idols” (v. 1). Jeremiah said that if they made commitments “in a truthful, just and righteous way,” then God would bless the nations (v. 2). The problem was the people were making empty promises. Their heart wasn’t in it.

God doesn’t want mere words; He wants our hearts. As Jesus said, “The mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Matthew 12:34). That’s why Jeremiah goes on to encourage those who would listen to break up the unplowed ground of their heart and not sow among the thorns (4:3).

Sadly, like so many people, my friend didn’t heed sound biblical counsel and consequently lost his marriage. When we sin, we must confess and turn from it. God doesn’t want empty promises; He desires a life that’s truly aligned with Him. 

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The Gift of Repentance

By |2022-05-14T09:06:04-04:00May 14th, 2022|

“No! I didn’t do it!” Jane heard her teenage son’s denial with a sinking heart, for she knew he wasn’t telling the truth. She breathed a prayer asking God for help before asking Simon again what happened. He continued to deny he was lying, until finally she threw her hands up in exasperation. Saying she needed a time out, she began to walk away when she felt a hand on her shoulder and heard his apology. He responded to the convicting of the Holy Spirit, and repented.

In the Old Testament book of Joel, God called His people to true repentance for their sins as He welcomed them to return to Him wholeheartedly (2:12). God didn’t seek outward acts of remorse, but rather that they would soften their hard attitudes: “Rend your heart and not your garments.” Joel reminded the Israelites that God is “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love” (v. 13).

We might find confessing our wrongdoing difficult, for in our pride we don’t want to admit to our sins. Perhaps we’ve fudged the truth, and we justify our actions by saying it was only “a little white lie.” But when we heed God’s gentle but firm prompting to repent, He will forgive us and cleanse us from all of our sins (1 John 1:9). We can be free of guilt and shame, knowing we are forgiven.

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Words that Endure

By |2021-10-13T09:06:02-04:00October 13th, 2021|

In the early nineteenth century, Thomas Carlyle gave a manuscript to philosopher John Stuart Mill to review. Whether accidentally or intentionally, the manuscript got tossed into a fire. It was Carlyle’s only copy. Undaunted, he set to work rewriting the lost chapters. Mere flames couldn’t stop the story, which remained intact in his mind. Out of great loss, Carlyle produced his monumental work The French Revolution.

In the waning days of ancient Judah’s decadent kingdom, God told the prophet Jeremiah, “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you” (Jeremiah 36:2). The message revealed God’s tender heart, calling on His people to repent in order to avoid imminent invasion (v. 3).

Jeremiah did as he was told. The scroll soon found its way to Judah’s king Jehoiakim, who methodically shredded it and threw it into the fire (vv. 23–25). The king’s act of arson only made matters worse. God told Jeremiah to write another scroll with the same message. He said, “[Jehoiakim] will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out and exposed to the heat by day and the frost by night” (v. 30).

It’s possible to burn the words of God by tossing a book into a fire. Possible, but utterly futile. The Word behind the words endures forever.

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Prejudice and Forgiveness

By |2021-07-17T09:06:03-04:00July 17th, 2021|

After hearing a message about correcting injustice, a church member approached the pastor weeping, asking for forgiveness and confessing that he hadn’t voted in favor of calling the black minister to be pastor of their church because of his own prejudice. “I really need you to forgive me. I don’t want the junk of prejudice and racism spilling over into my kids’ lives. I didn’t vote for you, and I was wrong.” His tears and confession were met with the tears and forgiveness of the minister. A week later, the entire church rejoiced upon hearing the man’s testimony of how God had worked in his heart.

Even Peter, a disciple of Jesus and a chief leader in the early church, had to be corrected because of his ill-conceived notions about non-Jewish people. Eating and drinking with gentiles (who were considered unclean), was a violation of social and religious protocol. Peter said, “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile” (Acts 10:28). It took nothing less than the supernatural activity of God (vv. 9–23) to convince him that he “should not call anyone impure or unclean” (v. 28).

Through the preaching of Scripture, the conviction of the Spirit, and life experiences God continues to work in human hearts to correct our misguided perspectives about others. He helps us to see that “God does not show favoritism” (v. 34).

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Pursued by Love

By |2021-05-17T09:06:06-04:00May 17th, 2021|

“I fled Him, down the nights and down the days,” opens the famous poem “The Hound of Heaven” by English poet Francis Thompson. Thompson describes Jesus’ unceasing pursuit—despite his efforts to hide, or even run away, from God. The poet concludes “I am he whom Thou seekest!”

The pursuing love of God is a central theme of the book of Jonah. The prophet received an assignment to tell the people of Nineveh (notorious enemies of Israel) about their need to turn to God, but instead “Jonah ran away from the Lord” (Jonah 1:3). He secured passage on a ship sailing in the opposite direction of Nineveh but the vessel was soon overcome by a violent storm. To save the ship’s crew, Jonah was thrown overboard before being swallowed by a large fish (1:15–17).

In his own beautiful poem, Jonah recounted that despite his best efforts to run away from God, God pursued him. When Jonah was overcome by his situation and needed to be saved, he cried out to God in prayer and turned toward His love (vv. 2, 8). God answered and provided rescue not only for Jonah, but for his Assyrian enemies as well (v. 10).

As described in both poems, there may be seasons of our lives when we try to run from God. Even then Jesus loves us and is at work to guide us back into restored relationship with Him (1 John 1:9).

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Morning Mist

By |2020-12-07T12:12:11-05:00December 11th, 2020|

One morning I visited a pond near my house. I sat on an overturned boat, thinking and watching a gentle west wind chase a layer of mist across the water’s surface. Wisps of fog circled and swirled. Mini “tornadoes” rose up and then exhausted themselves. Before long, the sunlight cut through the clouds and the mist disappeared.

            This scene comforted me because I connected it with a verse I had just read: “I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist…” (Isaiah 44:22). I had visited the place hoping to distract myself from a series of sinful thoughts I had been preoccupied with for days. Although I was confessing them, I began to wonder if God would forgive me when I had repeated the same sin so consistently.

            That morning, I knew the answer was yes. Through his prophet Isaiah, God showed grace to the Israelites when they struggled with the ongoing problem of idol worship. Although He told them to stop chasing false gods, God also invited them back to Himself, saying, “I have made you…you are my servant…I will not forget you” (v.21).

            I don’t fully grasp forgiveness like that, but I do understand that God’s grace is the only thing that can dissolve our sin completely and heal us from it. I’m thankful His grace is endless and divine like He is, and that it available whenever we need it.

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Wandering Off

By |2020-09-27T09:06:03-04:00September 27th, 2020|

Living near cattle ranches as he did, humorist Michael Yaconelli noticed how cows were prone to wander while grazing. A cow would keep moving, always looking for the fabled “greener pastures.” Near the edge of the property, the cow might discover some cool fresh grass under a shade tree. Just beyond a broken-down part of the fence was a tasty clump of foliage. Then the cow might push far beyond the fence and out to the road. It had slowly “nibbled” its way into being lost.

Cows aren’t alone in their roaming problem. It’s likely that people have the biggest tendency of all to stray.

Perhaps that’s one of the reasons God compares us to sheep in the Bible. It can be easy to meander and “nibble our way” through reckless compromises and foolish decisions, never noticing how far away from the truth we’ve strayed.

Jesus told the Pharisees the story of a lost sheep. The sheep was of such value to the shepherd that he left his other sheep behind, while he searched for the wandering one. And when he found the one that had strayed, He celebrated! (Luke 15:1–7).

Such is the happiness of God over those who turn back to Him. Jesus said, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep” (v. 6). God has sent us a Savior to rescue us and bring us home.

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He Changed Me

By |2020-06-09T08:59:03-04:00June 13th, 2020|

When John, who ran the biggest brothel in London, was sent to prison, he falsely believed, I’m a good guy. While there, he decided to attend the Bible study at the prison because there was cake and coffee, but he was struck by how happy the other inmates seemed to be. He started to cry during the first song and later received a Bible. Reading from the prophet Ezekiel changed him, hitting him “like a thunderbolt...”

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Our Father Sings

By |2020-04-20T16:29:52-04:00April 26th, 2020|

Dandy loves encouraging people by singing to them. One day we were having lunch at his favorite restaurant, and he noticed the waitress was having a hard day. He asked her a few questions and then started quietly singing a catchy, upbeat song to cheer her up. “Well, kind sir, you just made my day. Thank you so much,” she said with a big smile, as she wrote down our food order...

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